Coin-controlled vending-machine.



No. II,5oI. PATENTEDJAN. so, 190C4 I.l HEINRICH, I. SCHMIDT C C. L.ETHERIDCE.

COIN GONTROLLBD VBNDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NCI/123, 1904.

CUIN CCNTROLLED VENDING MACHINE.

- APPLIGATION EILBD Nov. 2s, 1904.

PATENTED JAN. 30, 1906. J. HEINRICH, J. SCHMIDT n C. L. ETHERIDGE.

3 SHEETS-BHEET 3.

Wittmann actuated by the coin to eifect its ltravel through thecoin-passage the release of the plunger-lock and the release of' ing,the upper portion of which is adapted to WTF@ JOHN HElNRlCH AND JOHNSCHMIDT, OF KANSAS CITY, AND CARROLL L.

ETHERLIDGE, OF ST. LOUlS, MISSOURI.

. rrp. a11,5oi.

Specification 'of Lettera Patent.

Patented aan. so. 190e.

Application filed November 23, 1904. Serial No. 234,033.

'dents of .Kansas City, in the county of J a'clv son, and CARROLLL.ETHnR1DGE,whose post office address is Fourth and Elm streets, 1n

the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri,

citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Coin-Controlled Vending-Machines; and we do herebdeclare the following 'to-'be a full,l

clear, an exact description of the invention,

Asuch as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

Our invention, which relates to coin-actuated vending-machines, has forits purpose vending-machines generally, but which is esp eciallydesigned for employment in c-ovr1nec-` tion with the improved machinehereinafter described and which is particularlyadapted for the sale ofcigars and like articles, the den livery of whichl is controlled bymechanism successively in the delivery-lock.

, The following description, read in connec#y tion with the accompanyingdrawings, willj enable any person skilled in the art towhich`our'invention relates to understand its na-i ,ture and to practice it inthc'form in which we prefer to employ it; but it will be understood thatour invention is not limited to the precise form and construction herein'illustrated and described, as various modifica- 'tiorililalid changesmay be made Without'ex- Oeeding thessco'pe of the claimsin which ourinvention is set out. Y,

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a vertical section of avendmgmachine em# bodying our invention, the plunger being in itsretracted position. Fig 2 is an elevation ofthe supporting-plate towhich the coirvcontrolling mechanism is secured, 'the plunger beingshown in "its normal locked position.. Ficf. 3 is a similar elevationwith the plunger un oclred and pushed in position to operate upon thecoin to allow the delivery mechanism to be actuated. Fig. 4 is avertical sec tion on the line i '4; of Fig. 5, showing the mechanism forrotating the delivery-cylin der. Fig. 5 is atransverse verticalsectimaof the machine, talren o'n the line 5 5 of Fig. 1, showingl themanner of supporting the op erating parts of the machine. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view on the line 6 6 of Fig. 4, showing the passages forthe nickel andthe lead coins. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the clampemployed for holding the cigarbox in proper position within themachinecasing to permit thezcigars to feed forward to thedelivery-cylinder- Fig. 8 is a detail ele vation illustrating the meansfor preventing the operation of the machine whena lead slug is insertedand for releasing the lead and per.- rmttmg it to drop into thepassage-way provided for it. Fig. 9 shows the coin receivin anddelivering slots in the front at the top and bottom and adjacent' theside of the casing.

The coin-actuated mechanism is so `constructed and relatively arrangedas to permit the movement of the delivery-cylinder and the consequentdischarge of a cigar from the machine only when a coin of the propersize and material is used as the means for effecting thelrelease of twolocks, as we will now describe.

iifhe numeral l designates the machine-cascontain a box of cigars, thebox 2 being supported at such an angle `as will permit the cigars tofeed forward by gravity through the lower end of the box. The top orcover 3 of thecasing is preferably of glass to expose the cigars to viewand has a front incline 4 to expose toview one cigar 5, supported uponAthe delivery-cylinder within the machine. The wall or front plate 6affords a space to contain printeddirections for operating the machineor other matter.- A cylinder 7 is mounted upon a shaft 8, supported insuitable bearings secured to the sides of the casing and imme- 'fdiatelybelow the front incline 4. The pe'- ripheral `surface of the cylinder isformed with a seriesof parallel equidistant grooves 9, extendinglongitudinally of thecylinder and being of such shape and depth as toserve as pockets to receive the cigars as they are fed one by one fromthe box. Above the `cylinder 7 is a feed-roller if), niountedinbearingsin the sides of the casing, the periphery ll of said feed-roller beinglon itudinally corrugated to facilitate the fee( of the ci ars andtoprevent their being crushed or bro ren,

' around a sprocket-wheel 14 iiXed upon the to one side ofthe casing.

shaft' 8 concentric with the cylinder, and a sprocket-wheel 13, fixed toone end of. the

roller, as best shown in Fig. 1. l

15 designates a ratchet-wheel Xed upon-y an extension 16 of the shaft 8and having equidistant teeth 17, corresponding in number to the parallelgrooves fof. the deliveryy cylinder and adapted to be successively engaged by an arm of the actuating mechanism, whichjwill be presentlydescribed.

18 designates a plunger slidably'su ported within'a horizontal guideway19 at t e front of the casing and' projecting outward from -the front ofthe machine-Casin under the the force of a spring 20, one en of which issecured to the .p unger, while its opposite end is attached to asupportinglate21, secured i lgivotally secured to one side of theplunger 18 within the casing is an arm 22, the'upper end of which isadapted to engage one tooth of the ratchetwheel 15 each time the plungeris pressed inward to turn said wheel and thev deliverycy'jlider a partof a revolution. In the mac e here shown there are six grooves in thedelivery-c linder and the same number of teeth in t e wheel 15, so thateach inward i movement of the plunger will cause the actuating-arm 22,Fig. c one-sixth of a revo u movements of the cylinder a cigar will bere-v 4, to move the cylinder tion, and at each of said leased and dropto a receiving-trough 23, located vat the base of the machine in adischarge-o ening 24 in the front of the casing. 4The p unger 18 isnormally 'locked against inward movement by mechanism comprising '-abolt 25, which is released bya lever 26, and

, a key 27, as in Fi s. 2 and 3. The bolt is supported by suitab eguides in a slight inclined position and is pivotally secured at itsupper 45 end to the inner end of the lever 26, the latter beingfulcrumed upon a pivotal sup ort 28, projecting from the wall-plate 21.Phe rear edge of the bolt 25 is recessed at its lower end to form ashoulder 29, which engages a lug -30, projecting from the plate when thebolt .is inelevated position. The key 27 is pivoted to the outerend ofthe/lever 26 and eX- tends upward-through a slot in the bottom fof-thecoin track or way, so that it will receive Vany coin, which can only beinserted into the coin-receiving slot 31 at the frontgof the machine bthe operator pressing the key down.

Norma ly the bolt 25 projects down a sufficient distance -to -1 engage ashoulder 32, formed in .the upper edge of the plunger, and 'when thebolt is so engaged the plun er is locked' againstv inward movement.Vhen, however,: a coin `is inserted into the slot 31, afterit'is forcedvover and depresses the key 27 ,j and the 'latter tilts the lever 26upon its 'when the plunger is force j. corres fulcrum, thus raising thebolt l25 and releasing the plunger. As soon as the bolt is elevated inthe manner just explained it swings rearward by gravity to seek avertical position, and this movement brings its shoulder 29 intoengagement with thexed lu 30 to hold the bolt in elevated position. T ebolt is returned to its lower or normal position by means of a tappet33, pivotally secured to the side of the wall-plate 21 and having aweighted arm 34 ada ted to be struck'by the shoulder 32 of the p ungerwhen the latter is pushed inward'. The' tappet 33 strikes the rear edgeof the' bolt and throws the latter forward, disengag'ing its shoulder 29-froin the lu 3() and enabling the bolt to drop behind te shoulder 32 ofthe lunger to lock it d) outward -by its spring.

From the descri Vtion thus far it will be apparent that the p unger willbe released by with' locking vmechanism which can only be released by acoin of the required character, This cylinder-locking mechanismcomprises a bell-crank lever 35, fulcrumed upon a stud. projecting fromthe adjacent side of the plate 21. The forward arm of the lever 35 isprovided-with a lug or tooth 36, which is ada ted to successively enterthenotches of a dis 37 'l to hold the disk and delivery-cylinder aainstrotary movement, as shownb dottef in Fig. 4. This disk 37 is fixeupon the eX- tension 16 of the shaft 8 concentric withjthe ratchet-wheel15 and is formed with e u idistant peripheral notches 38, said notc esponding in number tothe grooves in the cy inder 7.

The bell-crank lever 35 is provided with a housing-plate 42 is securedto the supporting wall-plate 21, and the dog 41, as we asthe lockinscribed, The housing-plate 42, Fig. 4, is formed with a slot 43,.through which extends the'pin 44, w Ach connects the do and the lower`end ofthe 'link 40, the latter eing on the inner sideofthehousing-plate. The" elevation ofthe dog 41 by a com in the mannerhereinafter described tilts the bell-crank lever35 through the linkconnection 40 to withdraw lthe tooth 36 from the notch of the disk'37'and' ermit the 'cylinder to turn one-sixth ofa revo ution.

v The weight 39 returns the bell-crank lever to its normal position toengage the next notch of the disk 37 after the do 41 =is released bythel passage of the coin 'eneath and beyondit. Y

The forward end 45 of the dog 41l is sharp- IDO lines weight 39, and isconnected b a link 40 to a ,dog 41, pivotally secured to t e plate 21. A

Ilo

mechanism ofgthe plunger above deis inclosed -between said plates.

ened to adapt it to enga e the edge of a lead slug, aswillbe more iulTyexplained in connection with Fig. 8.

A. coin-passage 46, formed by strips 47, secured between the wall-plate21 and the housing-plate 42, extends downward from the iront coin-slot31, and said coin-passage 'is provided with two branches 48 and 49, bothof which communicate with an inclined passage 50 at the .base of themachine through 'which spurious coins pass to a trough 51 at the frontof the machine. 52 designates another Acoin-passage, located below thedog 41, through which genuine coins are Jforced by the plunger into asuitable coin-receiver, as in Fig. 6 and indicated by the arrows in Fig.3.

One or more horseshoe-magnets 53 are arranged at the rear end of thepassage 46 for the purpose of attracting iron slugs and directing theminto the rear branch 4S of' the coin-passage and thence into and throughthe lower passage 50 to the trough 51.

j 54 designates a vlatch-plate pivoted to the walllate 21 below theplunger-guideway and ormed with a lip 55 to serve as a stop for coinsdropping through the passage 49, as shown by. dotted lines in Figs. 2and 8. A

weighted dog 56,pivoted to the wall-plate 21,

`engages below a nose 57, projecting 'from the latch-plate 54, andservesto support the latch 54. in position to arrest the movement of the coin,as clearly shown in Fig. 2. For the purpose of moving the plate 54 uponits pivot to release'a lead slugthe plate is provided with a lug 58,adapted to engage a notch 59,iormed in the lower edge of an arm 60,pivotally secured to one side ofthe plunger, as in Fig. 4.

The operation of the mechanism constructed as thus described is asfollow-s: /Vhen a genuine nickel is inserted into the coin-slot, toallow such insertion it first depresses the key 27 to pass into theslot, and the plunger `isre- Y leased through the intermediacy ofthelever 26 and bolt 25. The coin rolls down the passage 46 and beingunaffected by the magnet drops through the passage 49 to the positionindicated by dottedlines in Fig. 2. The plunger is then ushed in and itsinner end strikes the edge ot) the coin, forcing the latter rear- Wardunder and raising the dog 41. This upward movement of the wdog willoperate the bell-crank lever 35 and release the cylinder, as has alreadybeen described, and the contact ofthe upper end of the arm 22, carriedby the plunger, with the adjacent tooth of the ratchet-wheel 15, eiectsthe partial revolution of the delivery-cylinder to deliver one cigar.After the delivery of the cigar the spring 20 retracts the plunger andthe tappet S3 restores the bolt 25 to the position shown in Fig. 2 toagain lock the plunger. The cylinder is also again locked by theretraction of thebell-crank lever, as heretofore set Jforth. It an ironcoin or vslug is inserted into the coinslot, it rolls along the passage46 and is attracted by the magnets and then caused to. follow the courseindicated by the dotted arrows in Fig. 2 in the passage 48 without, of

course, affecting the cylinder-releasing mechanism, and no delivery ofthe merchandise results. It it is attempted to operate the machine bythe use oi' a lead slug, the latter after passing through the coin-slottakes the' course of the genuine nickel, as indicated by the fulllinearrows in Fig. 2. /Vhen, however, the

plunger is pushed in, instead of forcing the slug l rearward under thedog 41 it forces the edge of the lead slug against the sharp point ofthe dog, causing the point to penetrate the soft metal, as in. Fig. 8,and bind the slug in the space between the end of the coin-passage 52and the lip 55 of the latch-plate. Thus the raising of the dog isprevented, and the cylinder-releasing mechanism does not operate. Assoon as the plunger is released the latchplate 54 is drawn forward bythe arm 60, arid thel lead slug is thus released and will drop into thelower coin-passage 50, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 8.

From the inner end of the plunger projects a lug 61, which serves as asafety-stop, so that in. case the plunger is released without pushing anickel into 'the coin-slot (as by a wire or other device) the lug 61will strike the dog 41 when the plungeris pushed in and prevent theoperation of the cylinder-releasing mechanism. 7

' While the invention is not restricted to any particular means forsupporting the cigarbox within the casing, we have found the deviceshown in the drawings well adapted for this purpose. The box 2 rests uon crossbars 62, secured to the sides of the ame, and a clamping-plate63, havin(lr fingers 64 projecting therefrom, engages t ie rear end oithe box, the iront end of the plate 63 being cn- IOO nected by means ofa spring 65 to the forward cross-bar 62. Thus the cigar-box ismaintained in proper relation to the deliverycylinder underspring-pressure'.

It will be observed that the machine not only fails to operate when aspurious coin is inserted, but automatically ejects such coin instead otpermittingitV to pass to the coinreceptacle, and, `further, that twocoacting locking devices are provided, one controlling theplunger andthe other the rotary movement of the delivery-cylinder, both by thedirect action of the plunger, and it will be noted that in the control'oi the cylinder the weighted'arm '22 is in position to engage a toothof the cylinder ratchet-wheel on the inward i movement of the plungerand that a pin 66 on the plunger supports the upper end oi said arm insuch engagement; but on the outward movement "of said plunger theweighted 'arm will pass Jfreely under the teeth' without engaging orturning the wheeh These two separate and distinct locksarereleasedsuccessively by the coin, the tirstat the entrance of the entrance ofthe coin into the slot, the end of the key is inclined inward andupward, so that pressure on the coin has 'a wedge action upon the key indepressing it.

We claiml. In a coin-actuated vending-machine, a

revoluble goods-delivery cylinder, a lunger,

a coin controlled locking means or said lunger and independent coincontrolled lbcking means for said cylinder, both locking means .releasedsuccessively by the entrance of the coin into the slot and in itspassage to its eXit from said slot. l

2. In' a coin-actuated vending-machine, a

,revoluble goods-delivery cylinder, a plunger having' a shoulder, meanscarried by said lunger for actuating saidcylinder, means or locking saidplunger consisting of a 4device of connected members including anupward-standing. coin-receiving. key and a depending bolt adapted toengage said shoulder to lock the plunger in its withdrawn position, anda pivoted tappetor trip located above the plunger in rear of the boltand adapted to engage the bolt member and to be engaged by theplunger-shoulder for operation in the Way stated, and means forsupporting the depending bolt-locking member out of engagement with theplunger. Y c

3. In a coin-actuated vending-machine, a revoluble goods-deliverycylinder, a plunger having a shoulder, means carried by said plunger foractuating said cylinder, means for locking said plunger consisting `of`a device of connected members including a coinreceiving key at theentrance-slot and a depending bolt adapted to engage said shoulder i tolock the plunger in its withdrawn position, a pivoted tappet or triplocated above the plunger in rear ofthe bo t and adapted to engage thebolt member and to be'engaged by the plunger-shoulder, means whereby thebolt is maintained in its retracted position,

and means for 4automatically releasin said bolt from its retractedposition by t e inward. movement of the plunger..

4. In a coin-actuated machine, a rotating delivery-cylinder, a plungerhaving a shoulder, means carried by said plunger for actuating saidcylinder .to deliver cigars, means for locking said plunger consistingof a device of connected members including a coinreceiving key anda-depending bolt adapted to engage said' shoulder on said plunger tolock it in its withdrawn position, alug supporting the bolt in itsretracted position and a Weighted arm located above the plunger in rearof the bolt and caused to engage and release said bolt from itsretracted position by the inward movement of said plunger.

5. In a coin-actuated vending-machine, the combination with a revolubledeliverycylinder, and a plunger, of coin-controlled lockin means forsaid plunger, consisting of pivota lyconnected members the upper or eymember of which projects through a guide-opening at the entrance of thecoin-slot to partially close ita ainst the entrance of the coin,4 adepending 2(bolt member arranged to engage the plunger, and anintermediate member mediately pivoted to cause by the weight of thedependin bolt member pivotally mounted at one end of said intermediatemember to maintain said upper key member partially closing the entranceof the coin-slot inA its pivoted position at the other "end of saidintermediate member, means for supporting the depending bolt member outof engagement with the plunger, means for tripping the depending memberfrom its support, and means pivotally mounted on the plunger adapted toengage and rotate said cylinder on the inward movement of the plunger.

6. ln a coin-actuated vending-machine, the combination with a revolubledeliverycylinder and a plunger having a shoulder, of coin-controlledlocking means for said plunger consisting of a lever having a boltfreely dependinor from on`e` end thereof and a coinactuated ey risingfrom the other end of said lever and terminatin Within and partiallyclosing the entrance ci the coin-slot, said bolt caused to automaticallyengage a shoulder of said plunger and to maintain the key in position tobe depressed, a lug automatically engaged by said bolt to hold it inelevated position, and a Weighted tappet-arm adapted to be struck by theinward movement of the .plunger-shoulder to cause said tappet-arm: toengage and release the bolt thereby causing it to fall to its normalposition, and means 4actuated by said plunger to rotate said cylinder.

7. In a coin-actuated vending-machine, the combination of a rotatingdelivering-cylinder and a plunger having a shoulder, of coincontrolledlocking means for said plunger consisting of a lever device of connectedmembers including a coin-actuated key normally standing within andpartially closing the entrance of the coin-slot, and a bolt memberdepending in position to automatically engage said plun er-shoulder, alug to engage and hold the bo t up, and a tappet device arranged behindthe bolt and depending in the pat of the plunger-shoulder to releasesaid bolt, and means actuated by said plunger to rotate sai dv cylinder.

8. In a coin-actuated vending-machine, a goods-delivery cylinder, .aplunger, a device IOO IIO

ery mechanism as forlocking' and for releasing said cylinder, aratchet-wheel carried by the c linder, a weighted arm pivotally mounteon said plunger and adapted to engage the teeth of latter ha ving at itscoin-engaging end a strikeor tooth for engaging a member of thedelivdescribed andfor the purpose specified. f

10. Ina coin-controlled Vending-machine,

a plunger, .mechanism for locking said plunger, mechanism actuated bysaid com for re leasing the plunger, goods-delivery mechanism, a devicecarried by said plunger, and a device operative in the path of said coinand inthe path of said plunger whereby the delivery mechanism isactuated by the conjoint action of said coin and the plunger and both bythe inward movement of said plun- 11. In a coin-actuatedvending-machine, a plunger, mechanism actuated by the coin to allow theinward movement of said plunger, and goods-delivery mechanism actuatedby the conjoint movement of said coin and of said plunger, whereby thesaid coin is caused to have a .lock-releasing function intwo po sitionsin its travel through the machine.`

12.v In a coin-actuated vending-machine,- a plunger, means for lockingit in its retracted ositicn, a delivery-cylinder means ior locking it, alever carried by said plunger means carried by the latter for operatingsaid cylin der, a do in the path of the coin, the plungerlock an thedelivery-'lock released by the same coin, at the entrance ofthecoin-Dassage and at the exit of said passage.

13. In a coin-actuated vendingmachine and in combination, deliverymechanism for the goods, a plunger, and means for actuat ing thedelivery mechanism consisting of means carried.by said plunger andcoperating means in the path Iof said plunger, and coin-controlledlocking mechanism for said plunger comprisingv ivotally-connectedmembers one of Whici normally stands within a guide-opening at theentrance of the coin-slot and another member normally` engaging vtheplunger, the coin acting through said connected members on enterin thecoin-slot to release the plunger and sai coin on leaving the coin-,slotactuating the release of the delivery mechanism. 1

14. In a coin-actuated vending-machine, and in combination, agoods-delivery'cylinder, means carried by said plunger for actuating thecylinder, coin-controlled locking and releasing mechanism for saidplunger coml rising a vertically-slidable bolt, a lever to w ch saidbolt 1s pivotedand a key pivot` i ed to said lever and passing throughthe bottom oi the coin-passage, and means automatically engaging saidbolt for supporting it in its released position.

15. In a coin-actuated vending-machine, and in combination, deliverymechanism for the goods, a plunger, cooperating devices for locking theplunger and the delivery' mechanism both devices actuated by gravitreleasing the lock of each device, the release of the plunger being inadvance of therelease of the delivery mechanism.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN HEINRICH. JOHN SCHMIDT. CARRGLL L. ETI-IERIDG-E.

Witnesses:

W. L. PRATT, J. E. RocKwnLL.

and coperating means for successively

